Garg’s journey began as a teenager when she left India and came to America. She pursued a career in law, got married, and dedicated 16 years to being a wife and mother. Her eldest daughter convinced her to step out of her comfort zone and venture into stand-up comedy.
Since then, Garg’s talent has garnered a substantial following on social media platforms like TikTok, where she has amassed 705,000 followers, and Instagram, where her popularity is nearly equal. She has also made notable appearances on various platforms, including Peacock’s Kevin Hart’s Lyft Comics competition series and Apple TV+’s Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s Gutsy docuseries. In the past year alone, she has been featured on prestigious shows like the TODAYS show and the radio’s This American Life.
However, this Prime Video hour represents a significant milestone for Garg, marking her first full stand-up showcase for most viewers. It’s an opportunity for her to showcase her comedic prowess and captivate a broader audience with her unique style and storytelling abilities.
But most of her one-hour set is a commentary about how Indians and Americans view life differently and the cultural surprises most immigrants get when they get to the States. And a very “aunty” perspective into how they view it.
Supposedly then, the target for Garg’s comedy is the aunty crowd.
Garg wastes no time delivering the unfunny joke, highlighting that being “one in a million” doesn’t feel like much of a compliment when you come from a nation with 1.4 billion residents. She humorously prompts Americans to imagine the implications of adding a billion more people to their own country, questioning their stance on pro-life issues. Later, she draws a more direct comparison, suggesting that spending a day in Kolkata would make New York City feel like a quaint little village.
“If Americans were to compete with a billion people for a parking spot,” she says, ” every street corner would have a planned parenthood.”
Throughout her set, Garg frequently explores the contrasting beliefs between India and America, often centering on the differences between immigrant and American moms. She shares entertaining anecdotes about raising her three children, including her oldest daughter attending Stanford University, her attractive high-school son, and her somewhat forgettable younger son.
Garg’s repertoire includes jokes about STEM, spelling, and the Spelling Bee, as well as humorous mother-in-law anecdotes, where she playfully reveals that her mother-in-law keeps tabs on her through her TikTok account.
Furthermore, Garg takes a lighthearted jab at how Americans have transformed yoga into a “blood sport,” poking fun at the invention of concepts like hot yoga, mispronouncing “namaste,” and generally missing the essence of this ancient fitness practice.
Garg fearlessly addresses the issue of second-generation immigrants whining about their parents, playfully referring to them as “ABCDs” or “American-Born Confused Daisies.” She humorously suggests that the acronym should actually stand for “Always Bitching and Complaining Dumb-Dumbs.” In contrast, Garg aims to redefine the insults hurled at immigrant parents by second-generation Americans, proposing “Full of Benjamins” instead of “Fresh Off The Boat.”
She emphasizes that the hard work and sacrifice of immigrant mothers and fathers like herself subsidize their children’s dreams. Garg highlights the success of Indian-American CEOs, questioning whether they were afforded the luxury of choosing their majors or following their dreams.
Ironically, Garg shares her journey from dreaming of coming to America, inspired by Eddie Murphy’s film “Coming to America,” to eventually escaping a potential arranged marriage as a teenager in India. Decades later, she has fulfilled her dream of becoming a comedian, thanks to her daughter. Garg humorously refers to this path as her “sweet destiny” of becoming “an American loudmouth woman.”
Throughout her hour-long set, Garg tries to tackle stereotypes, intergenerational conflicts, and her own personal experiences, infusing her comedy with perspective on the immigrant experience seen through a narrow lens of people who don’t fit in or even try to.
This is special for the aunties responsible for Zarna’s success because they are trying to make sense of another culture in another country like they are. This special acknowledges co-writer- Cory Kahaney, who shares the experience of being a mother and gained recognition as a finalist on the first season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing twenty years ago.
For some reason, there was no LOL moment in the show but just a lot of Indian Aunty’s perspective.
